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Small Bites: Openings and Closings

Dec 11th 2012

Catching up on some hellos and goodbyes in the last weeks of 2012. . .

If you’re hot for pasta in Boca, check out Pasta Fever (4251 N. Federal Hwy., 561/338-0012) a cozy, intimate, noodle-centric joint from chef-restaurateur Eric Mourjan of Bistro Provence fame. The menu lists a handful of apps, salads and desserts, but the focus is definitely on pasta, a half-dozen or different kinds, which you can match to any of 18 sauces, from alfredo and marinara to shrimp, scallops and andouille sausage and salmon, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes.

Noodles, this time with a pan-Asian flair, are the deal at Boca’s Kin Noodle Bar (200 S. Federal Hwy., Boca, 561/361-8777). Chef-owner Ben Kin took over the former Boca Burger Bar, gave it a cosmetic redo and is dishing hand-made noodles in lots of assorted guises. Similar to Pasta Fever, you can pick your noodles and/or protein, whether traditional Pad Thai or spicy Korean-style ramen. Also on the menu are fried rice, soups, salads and appetizers.

No more pasta is being dished up at Tony Bova’s Viva Partenza on North Fed in Boca. The elegant restaurant (previously Bova Ristorante) that marked Bova’s comeback from the debacle with convicted fraudster Scott Rothstein is now closed. No word on why, though Bova’s latest endeavor, Mario’s Osteria, appears to be going strong.

Also exhausting all pasta-bilities is Pietro’s Plump Tomato, which only lasted a few months in the star-crossed location at Lake Avenue and North Fed in downtown Lake Worth. Chef-proprietor Pietro Priola created a cute little spot, one that tried to go with the “local, organic” flow, but it never seemed to generate much excitement, and every time I drove by the sleek, minimalist dining room appeared to be mostly empty.